A Bone-Building Dynamic Duo: Vitamin D Plus Calcium

A perfect example of how a vitamin works with a mineral to benefit the body

Perhaps you’ve already heard that not getting enough dietary calcium and vitamin D increases your risk of low bone-mineral density and stress fractures.

This is a perfect example of how a vitamin works with a mineral to benefit the body. Vitamin D teams up with calcium to help build bones by increasing the amount of calcium that gets absorbed in the intestines. Vitamin D is also needed for the regulation of serum calcium and phosphorus levels.

Are you getting enough vitamin D and calcium? Here are some practical ways to capitalize on this bone-building duo:

• Choose high-calcium foods that are fortified with vitamin D, such as certain types of milk, yogurts, and breakfast cereals.
• Enjoy oysters, canned mackerel, and most types of fish (which naturally contribute some vitamin D) with a high-calcium food such as yogurt, cheese, milk, cottage cheese, spinach, tofu, or green soybeans. Grilled halibut paired with an appetizer of edamame (green soybeans) is a great example.
• Make a tuna melt. You get the vitamin D from the tuna and the calcium from the reduced-fat cheese. Have it on some whole wheat bread and you have a nutrient-packed, fiber-rich lunch.
• Make a salmon Cobb salad, but substitute spinach for the lettuce.
• Whip up a smoothie using vitamin D–fortified milk or soy milk plus a little vitamin D–fortified yogurt or tofu as a thickener.
• Make a tuna casserole using reduced-fat cheese or cottage cheese. Use whole wheat pasta noodles, and the nutrient value of this entrée goes up even more!

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
The Recipe Doctor Blog